The Honking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Futurama episode | |
| "The Honking" | |
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|---|---|
| Episode no. | 31 |
| Prod. code | 2ACV18 |
| Airdate | November 5, 2000 |
| Writer(s) | Ken Keeler |
| Director | Susie Dietter |
| Opening subtitle | Smell-O-Vision Users Insert Nostril Tubes Now |
| Opening cartoon | Unknown |
| Season 2 November 1999 – December 2000 |
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| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"The Honking" is episode eighteen in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on November 5, 2000.
[edit] Plot
After spending a terrifying night in his late uncle Vladimir's castle in Pennsylvania, Bender is run down by one of the most feared of robot monsters, a "were-car" (the robot equivalent of a werewolf) - in truth, the "were-car" is a red-and-white 1958 Plymouth Fury, in a clear reference to Stephen King's Christine. Back at Planet Express, Bender begins to have nightmares about cars running people over, and starts to have blackouts. Seeking advice, he consults "professional help", a circus fortune-teller machine, who tells him that he has become a were-car himself, and that he is fated to kill his closest friend. The only known way to break the curse is to destroy the original were-car.
That night, a restrained Bender breaks out of confinement, transforms, and almost kills Leela, angering Fry, who had thought that he was Bender's best friend. The next morning, Fry, Leela, and Bender set out to track down the original were-car. After returning to the castle, an old cursed bird watcher robot sends them to follow a trail of infected robots, which leads to an igloo in the Arctic, and the All My Circuits soundstage. There, Calculon tells them that a thousand years ago, scientists built the most evil car out of parts from other evil cars. Acting on Calculon's information, the crew heads off to find Project Satan, the most evil vehicle ever made. When they arrive at the abandoned automotive plant, they confront Project Satan, but the clock strikes midnight, and Bender takes on his were-car form. After being given the choice of who to kill, Bender goes for Fry, ending Fry's grudge with him. While trying to kill Leela, Project Satan accidentally skids into a giant furnace and is killed, dissolving the curse.
Unfortunately, though, it is lifted at an inconvenient time, as Fry was in were-car Bender's driver's seat. Bender reverts to normal, but thinks he killed Fry as his last act. However, Bender's stomach hatch opens, revealing a squished Fry, who jumps out and enjoys Bender's last beer, causing Bender to once again try to kill him.
[edit] Cultural references
- The title comes from The Howling a modern classic Werewolf film
- The factory where Project Satan was initiated is called Anti-Chrysler, a pun on Antichrist.
- The eerie sound that is heard in the castle is very similar to the default startup tune for Windows 98.
- The title of the ancient book that the fortune teller reads is "Curse of the Were-Car: For Windows 98".
- One of the robot ghosts chasing Bender is the Microsoft logo. Another is an After Dark flying toaster.
- One of the tombstones in the castle cemetery reads "The Red LeBaron", a punning reference to the Red Baron and the Chrysler LeBaron, foreshadowing the were-car plot.
- The were-car that attacks Bender strongly resembles a 1958 Plymouth Fury, the same model as in Stephen King's Christine.
- Uncle Vladimir's spoiled son Tandy is named for the Tandy Corporation (now the RadioShack Corporation). On his torso is written "Euro-TRaSh-80", a reference to Tandy's TRS-80 personal computer, also called the "Trash-80".
- When the will is read, the line for Tandy is a parody of a line from the famous Volkswagen commercial "Funeral"
- The painting with the moving eyes is that of "Commodore LXIV", referring to the Commodore 64 personal computer.
- The line spoken by a Thermostadt villager, "Mumbo, perhaps. Jumbo, perhaps not," is a parody of a line from the 1934 horror film The Black Cat: "Supernatural, perhaps. Baloney, perhaps not."
- This episode references several horror movies, including those themed on the demonic car concept: The Car, Christine, The Haunting, The Shining, An American Werewolf in London and The Howling.
- While staying in Vladimir's castle, Bender is alarmed to see the binary code 0101100101 in a mirror, resulting in 1010011010 when reflected. 1010011010 is the binary representation of 666, the Number of the Beast.
- Calculon's claim that he was all of "history's greatest acting robots" is a subtle reference to the immortal Mr. Flint from the Star Trek episode "Requiem for Methuselah". David X. Cohen confirms this Star Trek reference in the DVD commentary.
- The impound lot in which Bender wakes up has the slogan "The Happiest Place On Earth", a reference to Disneyland.
- Project Satan refers to "Ed Begley, Jr.'s electric motor, the most evil propulsion system ever conceived!" Begley is known for his environmentalism and support for hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius, and owned a General Motors EV1.[1]
- At one point during the episode Doctor Zoidberg attempts to sell Mary Kay products to his coworkers.
- Fry's line, "I'm a blind pedestrian! 20 points!" is likely a reference to the cult 1975 movie Death Race 2000.
- The scene where the horse drawn carriage is moving along the cliffs towards the castle is very similar to a scene in Bram Stoker's Dracula.
- The beginning of the episode shares many similarities to an episode of "The Flintstones" titled "A Haunted House is not a Home". In the episode, Fred will inherit a scary castle from his eccentric uncle provided he spend one night within its walls. The castle contains a long dinner table, above which is a painting of Fred's uncle in which the eyes move. There is also constant laughing heard throughout the castle.
- The castle that once belonged to Bender's uncle is located in the former Robo-Hungarian Empire, a reference to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, outside its capital of Thermostadt, a parody of "thermostat".
[edit] Continuity
- In this episode, Bender's antenna is shown to also act as a receiver for remote controls, which Hermes uses to set him to 'mute' when he becomes too annoying. Bender is entirely unaware of any change.
- The Origin of Calculon is revealed - he was a lowly solid gold constuction robot resonsible for some of the manual labour on Project Satan, and also the first to be knocked down by it. He would later admit he had received his 'unholy' acting talent from another satanic source - The Robot Devil.
